Vehicle bonnet hinge

ABSTRACT

A vehicle bonnet hinge is provided, which includes a hinge arm having penetratingly formed coupling holes to be coupled with a bonnet in contact with a bottom surface of the bonnet at a top surface, and a first hinge hole and a second hinge hole penetratingly formed at a front part and a rear part of a surface of the hinge arm, a first link and a second link, of which upper end parts are respectively coupled with the first hinge hole and the second hinge hole of the hinge arm by axial pins, a hinge support formed with a hinge hole at a side to be rotatably coupled with a lower end part of the second link by the axial pin and coupling holes at both sides of a lower part to be coupled with a vehicle body by bolts in contact with a top surface of the vehicle body at a bottom surface, a slot formed longitudinally in the hinge support for preventing a hinge pin, which is coupled with the lower part of the first link, from deviating from a hinge center shaft when an external impact is applied, and a plate spring fixedly mounted at a side of the slot, and formed with a holding shoulder for preventing the hinge pin from deviating from a normal hinge operation position, wherein the lower end part of the first link moves along the slot in case of head-on collision between a vehicle and a walker, so that the bonnet moves downwardly for absorbing the impact energy, preventing the walker from being injured.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] (a) Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a vehicle bonnet hinge, and moreparticularly to a hinge of a vehicle bonnet for withdrawing a bonnet ofa vehicle backwardly for preventing a walker from being injured by thecollision with the bonnet even though the body of the walker contactsthe bonnet due to the head-on collision with the vehicle which isrunning.

[0003] (b) Description of the Related Art

[0004] Recently, it has been developed to minimize the shock due to thecollision of a vehicle with a walker by deforming the vehicle body suchas a bonnet in accordance with the pedestrian safety regulations whichare expected to be regulated in this country and other countries toexport our vehicles.

[0005] The pedestrian safety regulations are based on impact valuessensed by firing a head form simulating a head part of a walker by aspeed of 40 kph as the reference of judgment, wherein it is assumed thata walker collides with an end part of a glass at a rear part of abonnet, that is, a head of the walker collides with the vehicle in thevicinity of a hinge part.

[0006] In general, a front part of a vehicle is formed with an engineroom 2 for receiving an engine and other various parts, and a bonnet 1is mounted to an upper end part of the engine room rotatably withrespect to a hinge 100 for protecting the engine room, as shown in FIG.1.

[0007] The prior art hinge for a bonnet of a vehicle, as shown in FIG.2, includes a hinge support 20 having a rear part formed with a linkpiece integrally and upwardly extended at the rear part and formed witha hinge hole 23, and a front part penetrated with coupling holes 21, ahinge arm 10 having an insertion hole 12 formed at a rear part with aninner diameter equal to the hinge hole of the hinge support 20 andcoupling holes 11 penetrated in a front part, and a hinge pin 30 forpenetrating both of the insertion hole 12 of the hinge arm and the hingehole 23 of the hinge support 20.

[0008] In the above prior art vehicle bonnet hinge, the insertion hole12 of the hinge arm 10 is accorded with the hinge hole 23 of the linkpiece of the hinge support 20 to insert the hinge pin 30 into theinsertion hole and the hinge hole, and the hinge support 20 and thehinge arm 10 coupled by the hinge pin 30 are coupled with a vehicle bodyby bolts 27 via the coupling holes 21 of the hinge support and thecoupling holes 11 of the hinge arm, in such a manner that a top surfaceof the vehicle body is coupled with a bottom surface of a bonnet 1 and abottom surface of the hinge support 20 is coupled with a top surface ofthe hinge arm 10, so that the bonnet 1 is opened or closed by rotationwith respect to the hinge pin 30.

[0009] In the prior art vehicle bonnet hinge as above, the hinge arm 10,which contacts the bottom surface of the bonnet I at the top surface andis coupled by the bolt 27, is fixed and coupled with the hinge support20, which contacts the top surface of the vehicle body and is coupled bythe bolt 27, by the hinge pin 30.

[0010] Therefore, if the walker collides head-on with the vehicle whilethe vehicle is running and the body of the walker contacts the bonnet 1,the walker becomes injured seriously by the impact energy generated bythe collision with the vehicle.

[0011] In the meantime, in order to resolve the above problems of theprior art, as shown in FIG. 3, it has been suggested to form a bead part22 a′ in the link piece of the hinge support 20, which is formed withthe hinge hole 30 with the same inner diameter with the insertion hole12 of the hinge arm 10 to be coupled by the hinge pin 30.

[0012] According to the bead structure, when the walker collides head-onwith the driving vehicle, the bead part 22 a′ formed in the link pieceof the hinge support 20 becomes deformed, absorbing the impact energy,thereby reducing the injury of the walker.

[0013] The prior art bonnet hinge has, however, a problem that it isimpossible to control a breakage load by the only bead part 22 a′, whichis formed in the link piece of the hinge support 20 to be deformed forabsorbing the impact energy, so that the injury of the walker may not bereduced effectively.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a vehiclebonnet hinge that substantially obviates one or more of the problems dueto limitations and disadvantages of the prior art.

[0015] An object of the present invention is to provide an improvedvehicle bonnet hinge, which may absorb the impact energy by moving alower end part of a first link along a slot to move a bonnet downwardly,so that a walker may be prevented from being injured seriously by thebonnet, when the walker collides head-on with a running vehicle.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehiclebonnet hinge that may minimize an impact value applied to a head part ofa walker for safely protecting the walker in case of the head-oncollision of the walker with a driving vehicle.

[0017] A further object of the present invention is to provide a vehiclebonnet hinge that may meet the pedestrian safety regulations, which areexpected to be enforced in the inside and outside of the country.

[0018] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, avehicle bonnet hinge includes a hinge arm having a surface contacting abottom surface of a bonnet 1 at a top surface and penetratingly formedwith coupling holes to be coupled with the bonnet and a side surfacepenetrating formed with a first hinge hole and a second hinge holerespectively at a front part and a rear part, a first link and a secondlink, of which upper end parts are respectively coupled with the firsthinge hole and the second hinge hole of the hinge arm by axial pins, ahinge support formed with a hinge hole at a side to be rotatably coupledwith a lower end part of the second link by the axial pin and couplingholes at both sides of a lower end part to be coupled with a vehiclebody by bolts in contact with a top surface of the vehicle body at abottom surface, a slot formed longitudinally in the hinge support forpreventing a hinge pin coupled with the lower part of the first linkfrom deviating from a hinge center shaft position when an externalimpact is applied, and a plate spring fixedly mounted at a side of theslot and formed with a holding shoulder for preventing the hinge pinfrom deviating from a normal hinge operation position.

[0019] Therefore, the hinge pin forms a hinge shaft at a normal positionby the plate spring when the bonnet is normally opened or closed, whilethe hinge pin is deviated from the plate spring mounted in the slot forreducing impact force when a head part of a walker collides with a topsurface of the bonnet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide afurther understanding of the invention and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of theinvention and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

[0021] In the drawings:

[0022]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a prior art bonnet mounted toa vehicle;

[0023]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a disassembled state of theprior art hinge for the vehicle bonnet;

[0024]FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the prior arthinge for a vehicle bonnet;

[0025]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a hinge for a vehicle bonnetaccording to the present invention, which is disassembled;

[0026]FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a hinge for a vehicle bonnetaccording to the present invention, which is assembled;

[0027]FIG. 6 is an expanded view showing principal parts of the presentinvention;

[0028]FIG. 7 is an expanded view showing a state that a plate springmounted in a slot is deviated from a pin in the hinge of the vehiclebonnet according to the present invention;

[0029]FIG. 8 is an expanded view showing principal parts of the vehiclebonnet hinge according to the present invention; and

[0030]FIG. 9 is an expanded view showing an operation state of thevehicle bonnet hinge according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, examples of which are illustrated in FIG. 4 toFIG. 9.

[0032]FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 respectively show a structure of a vehicle bonnethinge according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,wherein FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vehicle bonnet hinge that isdisassembled, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vehicle bonnet hingethat is mounted to a vehicle bonnet, and the FIG. 6 is a front viewshowing the vehicle bonnet hinge that a hinge support is coupled with ahinge pin and a plate spring in a slot.

[0033]FIG. 6 shows a partially expanded view of a hinge pin 30 that isprevented from deviating from a hinge center by a plate spring 70 incase of a normal operation, and FIG. 7 is an expanded view of the hingepin 30 that deviates from the plate spring 70 by moving along a slot 60,which is longitudinally formed in the horizontal direction, forabsorbing impact, when a walker collides head-on with a top part of abonnet 1 and collision impact is applied to the top part of the bonnet.

[0034]FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the presentinvention, wherein FIG. 8 is a partially taken expanded view of thehinge pin that is prevented from deviating from the hinge center by theplate spring 70 in case of the normal operation, and FIG. 9 is anexpanded view of the hinge pin 30 that deviates from the plate spring tomove along a slot 60 that is formed longitudinally in the verticaldirection, when impact is applied to the top part of the bonnet 1 due tothe collision with a walker.

[0035] A hinge arm 10 contacts a bottom surface of the bonnet at a topsurface to be coupled and fixed by bolts 27 via coupling holes 11, andserves as a variable bracket.

[0036] A hinge support 20 is fixed to a vehicle body by bolts 27, andthe hinge arm 10 and the hinge support 20 are hinge-coupled by a firstlink 40 and a second link 50 apart from each other with a predetermineddistance.

[0037] The hinge arm 10, which is connected with upper end parts of thefirst link 40 and the second link 50, are formed with a first hinge hole12 and a second hinge hole 13 to be hinge-coupled with the hinge support20 by axial pins 31.

[0038] The second link 50 is coupled with the axial pin 31 at a lowerend part via a hinge hole 22, which is formed at a side of the hingesupport 20, and the first link 40 is coupled with the hinge pin 30 viathe slot 60 formed in the hinge support 20.

[0039] The hinge support 20 is formed with coupling holes 21 at bothfront and rear end parts to be coupled with a top surface of the vehiclebody by the bolts 27.

[0040] The slot 60 is formed in the hinge support 20 longitudinally, sothat the hinge pin 30 coupled with the lower end part of the first link40 may be prevented from deviating from a hinge center shaft whenexternal impact is applied.

[0041] The slot 60 is mounted with the plate spring 70 for preventingthe deviation of the hinge pin 30 from a normal operation position.

[0042]FIG. 7 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, inwhich the slot 60 is formed horizontally and the hinge pin 30 deviateshorizontally from the normal operation position when the bonnet isapplied with collision impact from a walker, and FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 showa hinge pin according to another preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, which serves as a normal hinge.

[0043] That is, the hinge pin 30 is formed with a key 33 which ismachined to be integrally attached to a cylindrical column part, theplate spring 70 mounted in the slot 60 is formed with a contactingsurface 72 to hold the key 33 and a holding shoulder 71 protruded at alower part by a slight height for supporting the rotation of thecylindrical column part.

[0044]FIG. 6 shows a normal operation state of the hinge pin 30 thatopens the bonnet 1, wherein the bonnet 1 is normally opened or closed ifthe key 33 rotates between the holding shoulder 71 and the contactingsurface 72.

[0045]FIG. 7 shows a state that the bonnet 1 collides with a head partof a walker and the external force is applied to the bonnet 1 by thecollision, wherein the hinge pin 31 deviates from the slightly protrudedholding shoulder 71 for supporting the cylindrical column part when theimpact force is transmitted to the first link 40.

[0046] Therefore, the first link 40 deforms to be withdrawn backwardlywhile maintaining the connection with the bonnet 1, so that the impactforce of the walker is prevented from being transmitted to the top partof the bonnet 1.

[0047] According to the present invention as above, the bonnet isdeformed, absorbing the impact energy by the withdrawing of the lowerend part of the first link along the slot together with the hinge pineven though the body of the walker contacts the bonnet due to thehead-on collision of the walker with a running vehicle.

[0048] Therefore, the walker is prevented from being injured seriouslyby the collision with the bonnet even though the body of the walkercontacts the bonnet of the running vehicle.

[0049] Further, the impact force applied to the head of the walker isminimized for protecting the walker more safely, so that the reliabilityand the safety of the vehicle may be improved, meeting the pedestriansafety regulations which are expected to be enforced in the inside andoutside of the country.

[0050] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made to the device of the presentinvention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.The present invention covers the modifications and variations of thisinvention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A vehicle bonnet hinge comprising: a hinge armhaving coupling holes penetratingly formed at a surface to be coupledwith a bonnet in contact with a bottom surface of the bonnet at a topsurface, and a first hinge hole and a second hinge hole respectivelypenetratingly formed at a front part and a rear part of a surface of thehinge arm; a first link and a second link, of which upper end parts arerespectively coupled with the first hinge hole and the second hinge holeof the hinge arm by axial pins; a hinge support having a hinge holeformed at a side to be rotatably coupled with a lower end part of thesecond link by the axial pin and coupling holes formed at both front andrear sides of a lower part to be coupled with a vehicle body by bolts incontact with a top surface of the vehicle body at a bottom surface; aslot formed longitudinally in the hinge support for preventing a hingepin, which is coupled with the lower part of the first link, fromdeviating from a hinge center shaft position when external impact isapplied; and a plate spring fixedly mounted at a side of the slot andformed with a holding shoulder for preventing the hinge pin fromdeviating from a normal hinge operation position.
 2. A vehicle bonnethinge according to claim 1, wherein the hinge pin includes a keymachined to be integrally attached to a cylindrical column part, and theplate spring mounted in the slot has a contacting surface formed at aside to hold the key and the holding shoulder protruded at a lower partby a predetermined height for supporting the rotation of the cylindricalcolumn part.